Bleeding Heart
by Lexi Teniro
Summary: Views of love from bleeding hearts. Poetry of lotsa people and lotsa pairings [canon and alternate], even more on request. Rated for safety.
1. I thru III

**Bleeding Heart**

Disclaimer: BACKWARDS! Kenshin Rurouni own not do I!

A/N: Just some (drama-ish) poems…enjoy!

I: Apology

Crimson

Spilling

Falling

Staining my hands

Amber fades,

Replaced with violet.

I cry.

I cry.

I can never love again.

Both my loves,

Both dead by my hand.

I think back,

Wonder why he took over.

Why I flipped my blade.

What madness took me?

This fire—

Rage—

Consuming me.

Why?

Dear Kami, why?

Why must this madness,

Affliction,

Take over me?

Driving my hand

Fueling this fire

Bringing but wishes for

Repentance.

I cry.

I cry.

Pain overtakes me.

Within

Without

Still I cry.

My tears of regret.

Crimson

Spilling

Falling

Staining my cheeks.

Caressing my scar.

As if it,

Itself,

Bleeds.

For loss.

For love.

I never told you,

Kaoru,

I love you.

I'm sorry.

II: Your Hand

Give me your hand.

Let me hold it,

Treat it,

Heal it.

Pour my love into it.

Though you

Will never know.

Give me your hand.

Allow me to

Love you.

Let me follow.

Forever.

Holding your hand, walking

With you.

Give me your hand.

"Aku" means nothing.

At least,

Not to me.

It is you

And I love you.

I love it.

Give me your hand.

Let me hold it,

Once more,

And whisper to you

What needs to be told

Before it ends.

_Give me your hand,_

_Sanosuke._

_I love you._

III: Butterfly

Butterfly!

Fly away for me.

Fly

Tell him, please.

Carry a message.

Tell him…

I miss him.

That I'm lonely.

Tell him…

To come soon.

Hurry, please,

Little white butterfly.

Hurry,

And tell him…

I need him.

Here.

With me.

As we always were.

Tell him…

To bring things back

As they always were.

Don't let my message die

As I did.

Give him this,

Please,

Butterfly—

"_Yahiko…_

_Please come soon._

_I miss you._

_Love,_

_Tsubame."_

Please,

Butterfly…

Tell him.

A/N: Well, that's it for now…I will do requests for pairings of various natures, unless, of course, I DESPISE that pairing…in which case it will be duly noted on my response to reviewers. And please keep in mind that I'm not going to do humor on this one, being that I only ever write depressing poetry. In any case, ja and review!


	2. IV thru VI

**Bleeding Heart**

Disclaimer: Alas, the beautiful alternate reality that is RK is not mine.

A/N: Woot! I'm ba-ack!

To **Jasmine Reinier**: You got it! One Chou/Tae drama coming right up! …OK, so not so dramatic, a little lighter, but whatever. And you rock for being the first reviewer! XD

To **sRoze**: THANK YOU for your review! That totally rocked! First off, the second poem WAS intended to be Megumi (thus the whole deal with the hand, meant to be literal…ah well). But now that you mention it, Sano/Sayo DOES seem to work…anywho. The third was kind of abstract, and I myself don't know if they were young or grown up…so I can't really answer that. And here's another Ken/Kao, too! Again, THANK YOU!

Anyway, here we go! And since I really didn't get many reviews, I added an A/M.

IV: Last Goodbye

Every moment

I'm away from you,

Every time

You leave me to cry,

I worry.

Don't leave me.

Always return for me.

Always.

Every goodbye

Pierces my heart

Will it be the last?

I never know.

I worry.

Don't wander from me.

You know

I will wait for you.

But you must return.

I cannot wait

Forever…come,

Hold me.

Once more.

I whisper to you

That I love you.

You pull away.

I love your eyes,

Locked with mine,

Amethyst on sapphire—

My heart freezes.

My words die

Before passing my lips.

"_Sayonara."_

You say,

Leaving me again.

I pray.

Come back.

Don't let this be

Your last

Goodbye.

You vanish in the night.

I worry.

But more than that—

I am afraid.

Because I somehow know

That it IS

Your last

Goodbye.

V: Mah Perty Tae

Mah perty Tae.

Ah see ya now,

And Ah know.

Y'are not perty.

_Ah'm not WHAT?_

_But Chou…Ah_

_Thought…_

Listen, Tae.

Ah have ta

Leave now, so,

Ah only

Have one thing ta

Say.

_Tell meh_

_Ah'm perty!_

_Ya always said_

_Ah was perty…_

_Yer perty Tae._

But Tae darlin',

Ah cain't.

'Cause y'aren't

Perty.

_Ah was_

_Yer perty Tae._

_What changed?_

Ah have to

Go.

_But_

_Chou—!_

And Tae…

Y'are not perty.

Y'are beautiful.

Ah'll see ya…

Eventually…

_Don't go…_

_Please don't_

_Go…_

Ah gotta.

G'bye,

Mah beautiful Tae.

VI: Prince of Ice

Prince of ice

Come to me.

Whisk me away

On your white horse.

Show me

You care.

Show me you know

How much

I love you.

I know you want

To protect me,

Prince of ice.

But dying

By your side

Is better

Than living with this

Love

And not knowing

If it is returned.

Just once,

Just a little,

Just so I know.

Show me

You love me,

As I love you.

Whisk me away

On your white horse.

I love you,

Prince of ice.

A/N: Well, that's it for now, took a while for so few, but my inspiration appears to be on vacation…XP Review please! Requests appreciated! Will do almost ANYTHING! Just review review review review review! Arigatou and ja ne!


	3. VII thru IX

**Bleeding Heart**

Disclaimer: If I owned it, would I be wasting my time writing this junk?

A/N: Chappie three and praying for requests!

To **Jasmine Reinier**: You seriously rock, you know that? You actually got me to write this chapter. Go you…or go me? Anyway, your request got me going again.

To **sRoze**: You also rock. I always look forward to your reviews, 'cause you actually take the time to say more than "Good fic, loved it!" or "Bad fic, never write again!". Ha ha. But really, thank you for your review. OK, that Ken/Kao was kind of self explanatory, and I'm glad you took it the happy way, as opposed to what THIS one had been thinking…Next, Chou and Tae are kind of minor characters, so you don't see them much anyway, plus that pairing is COMPLETELY alternate, I just happen to like it. Finally, I really liked writing the third one the best…I write my best stuff during algebra when I'm supposed to be taking notes. Nah, joking…or am I? And on your other review, (lol), I DEFINITELY see your point. BUT, being that this is a fanfic and I can screw around with the plot…yeah.

To (blank): You suck more. I bet you suck so much that you puff up like a balloon and explode. You suck more then Yumi sucks Shishio. You suck more then Saito sucks his cigarettes. You suck more than Sano sucks his fishbone. In fact, you suck SO much that it is beyond the suckiness of the ultimate suckeriest sucker on the whole sucking sucker infested sucky world. In short, YOU SUCK MORE.

On a lighter note, ON WITH THE POETRY!

VII: Beauty And The Beast

A wolf and his lady

Quietly lie

Together

Under the sakura tree.

A petal falls

On her porcelain features

Dark lashes

Shading her snowy cheek.

His hand in hers

Their eyes both closed,

An ebony bang flutters

In the gentle breeze.

It kisses her

Forehead, her

Cold forehead,

But gently as a

Landing butterfly.

Summer to autumn;

Autumn to winter;

And then the snow

Drifting

Down

Covering them.

The beauty

And her beast.

They move not to escape

The soft,

Sweet

Blanket.

And when the sky clears

On the snow,

There lies a red rose.

Red

As their blood.

Together in love—

Together in death.

A wolf and his lady.

A beast

And his beauty.

VIII: Respect of "-Dono"

"-Dono"

Respect that I

Show her.

Someday

I may drop it.

"Kaoru"

Sounds sweet

On my tongue.

But respect

Must be shown.

She

Deserves respect.

Her strength.

Her loyalty.

Her innocence.

"-Dono"

Is fitting.

I respect her.

I admire her.

But also

I love her.

Still

She remains

Kaoru-dono.

Always

Kaoru-dono.

IX: One Smile

One smile

From her brilliant

Youthful

Beautiful face

One smile

Sends my soul

Flying

Through the air.

One smile

Makes my heart

Pound

In my young chest

One smile

Tells me that

This

Isn't just a crush.

One smile

And I know

This

Is true love.

"_But we're only ten!"_

"_Tsubame…_

_I love you."_

One smile

Is all it takes

And

I love her.

A/N: Urgh, it took me WEEKS to think of a pairing to do, and between two and five minutes to write the darn thing. Sorry for the delay on this one. Hoping for a greater number of reviews/requests! I don't know what pairing you people want, and if I do MY favorites…(coughcoughALTERNATEScoughcough)…I'll get lynched. Ja, and PAH-WEASE review!


	4. X thru XII

**Bleeding Heart**

Disclaimer: I only own my computer. Wait, wait…nope, don't own even that.

A/N: YES! A fourth chapter! I can't believe I'm writing this much fanpoetry…fanpoetry? Is that a word? Well, it is now!

To **anithene**: THANK YOU! I really never thought that I wasTHAT good a poet…so you really made me happy! And, although Sou/Mis isn't my FAVORITE alternate pairing, I really don't mind it (in fact, I kinda like it…), and this is my first time writing it, so lemme know how I do, kk? (Grin) And really, the A/M was just 'cause when I'm starting out, I tend to try to stick to traditional. Less angry people. I actually love Enishi/Misao and Saito/Misao (Yes, I am VERY weird. Don't mind me.)

To **Jasmine Reinier**: YES! VIRTUAL SHINAI-NESS! (Runs around bopping random people on the head with the shinai, some of which (coughcoughAUROREcoughcough) "oro". Bops said people twice.) Here's yer Saito/Kaoru! Yay for alternates!

To **sRoze**: (Happy dances at the review, squealing) I don't care if it was late, you more then made up for it in length! Thank you for your unwavering faithfulness to this little collection; you have no idea how much it rocks. OK, so yes, the first one WAS Saito/Tokio, and it's a popular pairing 'cause they're married. Tokio is often killed off/sent away in fics; who knows why. And, although Saito is a main character, Tokio is mentioned once and shown never, so she's REALLY fun to write, 'cause you can do ANYTHING. She can't be OOC, 'cause she has no C to be OO! I often want to bop Kenshin as well, for being more romantically inept then…then…ME! (Laugh) (Bops Kenshin with the virtual shinai from Jasmine) I honestly hadn't realized that pattern in One Smile. 'Twas completely unintentional. Funny the way my unconscious mind works, ne? (Grin)

Without further ado, on with the poetry!

X: Rain or Tears?

I watch his face

From shelter

His wet

Mine dry

For once the smile

Gone

From both.

Rain slides down

Caresses his cheek

And yet

I don't know if he finally

Cried

Rain or tears?

The smile gone

The rain beating on

The roof.

Clear liquid

Wet braid

Rain or tears?

I run to him, to try

To make him smile

I can't

Stand tears.

Because I know that's

What they are.

He looks

At me in

Surprise, the wet

Trails on his cheek

Continuing.

I sit beside him—

He doesn't

Move away—

And together in the rain

We rest

My own face wet.

But with

Rain or tears?

XI: The Predator

His eyes are molten

Gold

His teeth are pointed

Ivory

His hair is deepest

Ebony

And so

The powerful man moves

Preparing to meet

His prey.

He walks along the

Street

The passersby back

Away

And still he just continues

Preparing to meet

His prey.

She appears, young and

Anxious—

Nervous—

Beautiful.

Towards the girl he walks

Now to meet

His prey.

She runs to him—

Bokken in hand—

Opens her mouth

And cries

"You're late!"

He flinches and looks away.

It seems

That now, the predator

Has just become

The prey.

XII: My Heart

He promised he'd never

Leave her

She hesitated

To say the same.

A glint of copper

From the setting sun

"Promise…

Promise, Kaoru—

Promise you'll never

Leave."

"I…

I do. I promise."

She raised

Her hand, the palm

Towards him.

He grasped her wrist, and

She looked at him,

In wonder.

"Good."

The redhead

Raised her palm to

His lips

Kissing it.

"Because…

Kaoru…

You hold my heart.

Right here, in

This hand."

She closed

Her eyes, savoring

His sweet scent.

A glint of copper

From the setting sun.

A glint of ebony

From the light

Of love.

Knowing

She held his heart—

Right

In her hand.

A/N: YAY! New record for one chappie…one sitting! Go me! And no writing it out in algebra first, either! Brain to computer, direct path. As always, review! Will do any pairing for reviews!


	5. XIII thru XV

**Bleeding Heart**

Disclaimer: You know what? This is the fifth time I've said the same thing this fic. I don't own it and I never will.

A/N: Woot! These reviews totally rock! And SO MANY! Cookies to all my reviewers!

To **sueb262**: Thank you! I'm glad you like it! It's kind'f a weird pairing, ne?

To **irishKaoru**: THANK YOU! Y'know, you're the second person to mention that particular one as being a favorite! Interesting…I might have to write another one for that pairing…

To **anithene**: OO Please don't kill anyone…no death! Peace and Love! Truth be told, I never mean to demean my talents, I just tread the fine line between humility and being a wet noodle that has no confidence. Eh heh. And thanks for the long review of compliments! It gave me an ego-boost when I needed it most!

To **RoseGoddess874**: Thank you! Have a cookie! (Hands one)

To **Jasmine Reinier**: PLUSHIES! YAY FOR PLUSHIES! (Huggles cyber-plushies) Here's another! (Hands an Aoshi plushie) That's for reviewing…I MIGHT give Aurore a Kenshin if she EVER reviews my writing…otherwise…(Gestures to Kenshin plushie dangling precariously over a lake filled with plushie-eating sharks) HEH. Thanks for the review, ryu-chan!

And on we go!

XIII. Birds

There was a lark.

Small,

Flighty.

Pretty

But not beautiful.

Determined

A temper.

It reminded him

Of her.

There was a hawk.

Strong,

Fierce.

Powerful,

But not handsome.

Determined

A temper.

It reminded her

Of him.

There were two birds

A hawk,

A lark.

Together,

But not near.

Determined

Matching tempers.

They reminded them

Of each other.

XIV. Nothing's Perfect

I'm dirty

I'm common

I'm rough

And I'm sure as hell

Not perfect.

She's clean

She's intelligent

She's gentle

But she's sure as hell

Not perfect.

She needs to love—

To accept

Emotions.

She needs to stop

Holding her head

Above the rest

Of us.

She needs to

Not be

So damn

Snobbish!

To see

That some people

Admire her…

Love her.

I'm dirty

I'm common

I'm rough

And I'm sure as hell

Not perfect.

She's clean

She's intelligent

She's gentle

But she's sure as hell

Not perfect.

She

CAN'T be

That oblivious.

She

HAS to see

That I love her.

She's not perfect.

I'm not perfect.

But then again…

Neither

Is love.

XV: Love is…

Love is…

Being in your arms,

And knowing you'll stay.

Love is…

Tripping in the rain,

And knowing you'll catch me.

Love is…

Seeing your flattened hair,

And knowing we can both laugh.

Love is…

You winking…blinking?…

And knowing it's for me.

Love is…

Watching you polish your swords,

And knowing I'm more important.

Love is…

A secret smile,

And knowing only I can see it.

Love is…

Making a dinner,

And knowing it's just for us.

Love is…

Watching fireflies,

And knowing you're watching me.

Love is…

Seeing you leave,

And knowing you'll come back.

Love is…

Dying in your arms

And knowing

Your heart died too.

A/N: FINALLY! Done! The first pairing's a secret, the second is (obviously, I think) Sano/Meg, and the last is (somewhat obviously) a Chou/Tae, because so many people liked it. YAY! Review, por favor! And I suggest leaving a request, as Jasmine's getting sick of feeding me pairings…(She actually gave me all of them for this chappie…so cookies and plushies to her!) REVIEW! ARIGATOU!


	6. XVI thru XVIII

**Bleeding Heart**

Disclaimer: Own it not do I, tho' the leaves whisper wildly in the wind…

A/N: Erg…this one will be difficult…

To **IKnowNot **(times four): Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you! I would say it eight times (twice for each review), but I'm too lazy to type it all out. But really, thanken so much!

To **skenshingumi**: Thank you! You totally rock! And thanks for taking time on your review, I completely appreciate it!

To **RoseGoddess874**: Thankenheimer!

To **Battosaigurl**: Really now? Deep you say? I'm deep? (Probes brain and finds naught but lint, pencil stubs, an old manual eggbeater, and half a chocolate chip cookie) Whoa…

To **Jasmine Reinier**: WOOT! PLUSHIES! Aside from that…you know how much you suck for requesting that pairing? As if some of my readers weren't run off already from all the OTHER alternates! Plus…how the hell am I gonna do THAT?

(Pay no heed to my response to Jasmine-chan. She is my friend and we do such to each other. Speaking of which, since everyone that reviewed seemed to LOVE Chou/Tae…well, she writes it. LOTS of it. Like, she's one of two authors on this site that writes said pairing. So read her stories! And review! Yes, this is a shameless plug.)

And onward we go!

XVI. Firefly

Firefly

Dancing in the moonlight

Bright

Joyful

Oblivious

Of the trauma

Of the two humans.

Firefly

Doesn't see the tear

Trickle

Down

Her face

As he says

Goodbye to her.

Firefly

Doesn't hear her

Calling

His

Name

Trying to get him

To stay with her.

Firefly

Doesn't see the tear

Trickle

Down

His face

Desperately trying to show her

He doesn't want to go.

Firefly

Doesn't notice when she

Collapses

Sobbing

Heartbroken

Wishing for him to

Turn and kiss her.

Firefly

Dancing in the moonlight

Bright

Joyful

Oblivious

Of the girl

As her soul dies.

XVII. Unexpected

The most

Unexpected

Never

Expected—

Both young,

However,

One lively…

One bitter.

One looks

To the future…

One dwells

In the past.

The most

Unexpected

Never

Expected—

The friendship

That comes to

The two.

Together,

Both

In comfort

Both live

In the present.

The most

Unexpected

Never

Expected—

What blossoms

Between,

What grows

In their hearts

The unexpected

That was least

Expected—

Love.

Unexpected,

But there.

XVIII: Sometimes

Sometimes

It seems like we

Hate.

Sometimes

It seems like we

Flirt.

Everyone

Thinks that we are

Some twisted

Kind of insane.

Sometimes

It seems like they are

Right.

I know, though,

That all

That insanity is

Is another word for

Completely

Madly

In love.

Sometimes

I think that this

Can only be true.

Sometimes

I think that I'm insane

To love you.

But

Sometimes

I just do.

A/N: FINALLY I got onto my lazy butt and wrote that last one. Sorry about the delay this chapter. Cookies to anyone who reviews and guesses the last two pairings.


	7. XIX thru XXI

**Bleeding Heart**

Disclaimer: Still don't own nothin' but the words.

A/N: I WOULD say I love you all, but only my trusted friend Jasmine reviewed. Although I read your bio, sRoze, and I pity you, so I love you, too. (Bows) And these are shorter, because they weren't they type that I could drag out. They NEEDED to be concise.

So forge ahead if you dare, into my land of alternate pairings and fun.

XIX: Snow

Snow

Drifting

Covering everything

It flits down

And lands in your hair

Disappearing

Into the white

More lands on your cheek

Icy breath of winter

In place

Of my kiss

Despite my will

My hand comes to your

Cold

Icy cheek

It brushes away

The

Cold

Soft kiss

Of the snowflake.

Your eyes meet mine

Precious turquoise

To glistening sapphire

And snow is there

Too

Ice

Cold

And beautiful.

XX: Something Strange

Look.

Ah'm not too good at this.

It's not all that easy

And Ah don't know why.

So.

Try ta understand.

Good?

'Kay.

Um…

The thing is…

There's somethin' strange.

Every time Ah look at you.

Somethin'…not right,

Like a shock

Right down mah spine.

It's strange.

Every time you talk ta me

Somethin' happens.

Somethin' different.

Ah cain't explain it—

Not that Ah don't try.

It's just…

Somethin'.

Can ya help meh?

…What was that?

…

What d'ya mean, Tae?

So that's what it's called, huh?

That somethin' strange.

Love

Really is a funny thing.

XXI: Melting

A change

In icy eyes

A double glance

From one who took

Everything in

After one.

The confused fade

Of an ever-present smile

Showed something.

Neither understood.

And everything

Went on as always.

Nothing

Changed

Ever.

But the one could not

Forget

That change in the eyes.

That double glance.

And the other

Could also not

Forget

That fade

In the ever-present smile.

Yet

As time goes on,

The past melts away

And

Changes flow into

The sea of time.

A/N: Tune in next time, and anyone who is kind enough to ACTUALLY review (I see the hit count. I KNOW you're reading without reviewing) will get a cyber-plushie of the bishie of their choice. And cookies. So review. PLEASE. T.T

P.S. I bet you'd like to know the pairings, wouldn't you? Well, I believe they're pretty obvious…I've gone on a non-canon streak…(Sheepish grin) ANYway, the first is Enishi/Kaoru, then Chou/Tae, then Aoshi/Sojiro. But don't kill or flame for this.


	8. XXII thru XV

**Bleeding Heart**

Disclaimer: Still don't own nothin' but the words.

A/N: I know this is several months after my last update. (Grin) At least it's up at all. Anyway, here are FOUR! Enjoy the latest!

XXII: Silence

The silence

In the silence, there was

Music

But he was busy

Listening

To her heart.

Or,

At least,

Trying.

The silence

In the silence, there was

Laughter

But she was too busy

Listening

To his breath.

Or,

At least,

Trying.

In the silence, there was

Something

But they were too busy

Listening

To the silence.

Or,

At least,

Trying.

XXIII: Little Things

He likes soba.

Well,

Maybe that's not

Strong enough

A word.

He LOVES soba.

One of those funny

Little things,

Y'know?

But…

I make him soba.

Every time

He comes in.

Just for him.

He prob'ly doesn't

Realize

Or notice,

Or anything.

But…

I still make him soba.

Yeah,

I know it's silly.

But it's

The little things.

I guess.

Like…a smile

On a bad day.

Or a brush

Of his hand when

I'm feeling down.

Or

Hot soba

On a rainy day.

Yeah.

Little things

Like that.

XXIV: No

Hey…

Kitsune!

You have to snap out of it.

Come back.

I know

We all die someday.

But…

I mean,

You aren't…

REALLY

Dead, right?

You don't get it,

Kitsune.

Megitsune.

Megumi.

You can't go yet.

It isn't

ALLOWED.

I…

Never told you

Just how much I…

…

Love you.

XXV: Dishes

A glint of sunlight

Glances

Off a bucket

Of water.

She

Glances where it falls

And blushes

At his slumbering face.

He

SHOULD

Be helping her.

But

She can't bring herself

To wake him.

So,

Ever so quietly,

She finishes the dishes.

By herself—

But not alone.

When he was

To arise

He'd feel guilty.

But just then…

The sunlight

Glances

Off the water

And lands on the blanket

Carefully

Placed over him.

And illuminates

A smile on her face

That doesn't

Need more illumination

Than

Her happiness.

A/N: YAY! Okay, so the first was Kenshin/Tomoe, then Saito/Tae (curse you, Jasmine!), then Sano/Megumi, and finally Yahiko/Tsubame. Review!


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